VR Will Forever Change How We Create

March 21, 2016 - 3 minutes read

As a visual artist I try to keep on top of new technology, but that’s rarely something mind blowing. Each year we get pretty big leaps in web design software and techniques but when it comes to digital painting, 3D and sculpting and other digital areas we’re mostly just waiting for the next update to Photoshop, Zbrush or something else. I think the last thing that blew my mind was discovering Kyle Webster’s Photoshop brushes and how much of a difference they made for me when painting. Some new brushes aren’t what’s brought me out of my brief writing hiatus, however.

Always having enjoyed working in 3D in traditional media, whether it be cut paper or actually sculpting something from clay, plasticine, wood and even stone, I’ve always wanted to get into 3D in digital media a little bit more. I’m sure other folks can empathize with me though, even the more user-friendly of 3D programs have kept me away. Something tells me that’s about to change.

All of the new Virtual Reality (VR) headsets are coming out this year. I figured some new art and design programs would eventually come out for VR later down the road, but I had no idea they’d be launching along with all of the new VR systems. The below videos are examples of what we can see from digital painting using a new VR program called Tilt Brush. Frick, they are awesome. Still seems pretty gimmicky and not totally applicable, but awesome. After viewing them I got curious about sculpting and started looking around, and that’s where the third video below comes from– it’s an example of Leap Motion’s New Orion Gesture Tracking For VR, and after watching it I think you can see how soon you’ll be able to easily sculpt digital clay. I’ll actually be surprised if folks like Zbrush and Mudbox don’t adopt VR asap in the next year or two. If you’re a creator and you haven’t watched these videos yet, do so ASAP.

With amazing developments like these, where will art and design go next with VR or other technologies? What does illustration or character design look like in 5-10 years? Everyone else seems to be excited about VR gaming, but me… I want to make cool stuff.